Nomination for Pinelands Commission withdrawn

David Levinsky @davidlevinsky

Tuesday

Mar 26, 2019 at 5:49 PMMar 26, 2019 at 5:49 PM

Mooij’s nomination was formally withdrawn Monday. She was nominated to the commission in January, along with Theresa Lettman, of Manchester, Ocean County, to fill the seats of current commissioners Gary Quinn and Candace McKee Ashmun.

TRENTON — Gov. Phil Murphy will be looking for a new nominee to serve on the Pinelands Commission after withdrawing the nomination of longtime New Jersey Audubon leader Kelly Mooij to serve on the key environmental planning board.

Mooij’s nomination was formally withdrawn Monday. She was nominated to the commission in January, along with Theresa Lettman, of Manchester, Ocean County, to fill the seats of current commissioners Gary Quinn and Candace McKee Ashmun.

No indication was specified regarding why the nomination was withdrawn, but multiple sources said Mooij is expected to take a position with the administration as the deputy director of Clean Energy within the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

A spokesman for the BPU declined to comment.

The Pinelands Commission is responsible for overseeing development and land use in the Pinelands, an ecologically unique area of forests, fields, wetlands and bogs located in the heart of the nation’s most densely populated state. The agency’s 15 governing commissioners aren’t paid but are considered the front line protectors of the region and its rare plants and animals and pristine water supplies.

Seven of the commissioners are gubernatorial appointments that must also be approved by the state Senate, and seven are appointed by the governing bodies of each of the counties that encompass the Pinelands. The 15th member is a federal representative appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Mooij and Lettman were Murphy’s first nomination to the commission and were made nearly a year after he was sworn into office. Neither have received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which typically reviews and votes to advance or reject nominations before the full Senate votes to confirm them.

Nominees must also be approved by the senator or senators representing their home counties under the unwritten rule of senatorial courtesy.

Mooij, of Trenton, has served as director of government relations for the New Jersey Audubon for over a decade.

Murphy’s nomination marked the second time she was picked to serve on the commission but never confirmed. She was also nominated to replace cranberry farmer Stephen Lee III on the commission in 2009 by then-Gov. Jon S. Corzine, but wound up declining the nomination amid backlash from agriculture advocates. Corzine’s second choice, Lloyd Henderson, of Lawnside, Camden County, was eventually picked.

News of Mooij’s withdrawal drew a mixed reaction from environmental advocates who have been pressing Murphy to make changes on the commission in the wake of the panel’s well-publicized and controversial votes to approve construction of two natural gas pipelines through parts of the pines, although one of those approvals has since been revoked.

Carleton Montgomery, executive director of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, said Mooij was an excellent choice for the commission but that it was the right move for her nomination to be withdrawn if she is becoming a state employee, since the commission is an independent body.

“It does mean we’ll be looking to Gov. Murphy to make a new choice for the commission. I’m sure the governor’s people are working on it. There’s lots of good choices out there,” Montgomery said.

His one concern was that withdrawal would further delay the confirmation process.

All seven gubernatorial appointees on the commission are currently serving as holdovers until the governor either nominates replacements or chooses to seek their re-appointment. In either case, they must be confirmed by the full Senate.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, had been critical of Mooij’s nomination due to the Audubon’s forestry activities and ties to utility companies through its Corporate Stewardship Council. Reached Tuesday, he said Mooij’s withdrawal would give Murphy the opportunity to choose a better nominee to pair with Lettman, who is a former employee with the nonprofit advocacy group, Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

He suggested former Pinelands Commissioner Robert Jackson, who was replaced in 2014 by Ocean City resident Bob Barr after he voted against one of the pipelines.

“Together with (Lettman) would make a very strong statement of the governor’s commitment to the Pinelands,” Tittel said, adding that it would help build support for a fast confirmation of both nominees.

“If the replacement is a strong advocate who knows the history of the Pines, it would give advocate groups something to rally behind,” he said.

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